We got the first round on Joker 2 last week, and the information hasn't stopped coming in yet. So far we learned that Joaquin Phoenix is returning as Joker, and that Todd Phillips is coming back to direct the sequel. The film is titled Joker: Folie A Deux and is a musical that will feature Lady Gaga as Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Most of the film is reported to take place inside of Arkham Asylum and new reports indicate that Zazie Beetz is in talks to reprise her role in Joker: Folie A Deux, at least according to Deadline.
Beetz was in the first Joker film as Sophie Dumond. She was Arthur Fleck's love interest in the film who also happened to live right beside him. One of the big subplots of the movie revolves around Arthur getting enough confidence to ask her out. He starts a successful, seemingly happy relationship with her. Only... he didn't. One of the film's big twists was that he imagined the entire thing. By the end of the film he confronts the real Sophie, thinking they're together and her fate is left ambiguous, as Arthur has already snapped at this point.
It was later confirmed by the director that Sophie did, indeed, live. Sadly, some of here scenes were cut from the final film as well, so we might have seen her final fate there so the audience wouldn't have had to wonder. The big question is what role Sophie could serve in Joker: Folie A Deux. If most of the film is set in Arkham Asylum, and it seems unlikely she would visit Arthur, in what capacity could she come back?
A lot of speculation has been going around since this got out to the public. Some people think that either Arthur or Harleen could but Sophie's life in jeopardy. I can easily see Harleen going after Sophie if Arthur talks about her in therapy. It's also possible that Arthur is still hallucinating visions of Sophie, which could play some kind of role in the film.
Warner Bros Discovery is surely hoping they can recapture the magic of the first Joker film, which won several awards and raked in over $1 billion. The film has even more starpower this time around with Lady Gaga joining the fray, so it may just be possible.
Joker: Folie A Deux will release on October 4, 2023.
